


Knock her off her feet!

by ScottishPirate



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-18
Updated: 2015-11-18
Packaged: 2018-05-02 05:09:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 773
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5235380
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ScottishPirate/pseuds/ScottishPirate
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Marauders are in their fifth year, and very excited for the Yule ball. They were all going to simply go together, until Peter confesses that he has a crush - and the others will definitely not let him get away with not asking the lucky girl out.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Knock her off her feet!

“Come on, Wormtail, you can do it.”  
“We believe in you – knock her off her feet!”  
“Try not to knock yourself out in the process!” The three other marauders were cheering on their friend, egging him on towards a pretty Hufflepuff girl sitting a little way away from them in the library, sucking on a sugar quill while she was writing an essay, two books sprawled out in front of her.

Peter’s hands were clammy, he could feel his heart pumping in his stomach and his throat felt closed up, but at the same time as if he was going to lose his break-fast all over the library books. “I can’t do it. What if I mess up? What if I knock her ink over and it spills all over her parchment, what if I trip and fall into her, what if -- ”  
“What if she says yes?” Remus cut him off, smirking. “What in the name of Merlin will you do then?”

Peter stopped in his tracks, open-mouthed and his hands fumbling in the air in front of him. It was as if he had not even realised that there would be an ‘after the yes’ scenario to worry about.   
“I don’t know!” He burst out, loud enough to earn himself a shushing from a Slytherin who was trying to study at the next table.

“It’s just the Yule ball, what’s the worst that could happen?” Sirius reassured, shrugging carelessly as he gave Peter a hard push towards the girl, almost making Wormtail fall backwards on his buttocks when he tried not to let the other send him off like a projectile.

“You said she’d broken up with her boyfriend. It’s been a week, you can ask her now without it being weird.” James said, poking Peter with his wand to make him move out of the spot where he seemed so strongly rooted.

“You know what .. You’re right.” Peter said, confidently, straightening and pushing out his chest. “I’ll do it. I’ll go up to her and say – Say .. ” He almost deflated again, before James grabbed him, and pulled him back, wrapping an arm around Peter’s shoulders.

“Don’t worry, Wormtail, it’s easy. You just go up to her and say ‘You’re really cute, do you want to go to the Yule ball with me. I promise I’m cool, I know James Potter.’ ” James laughed as Peter pushed him away, shaking his head hopelessly. But then nodded, determined.

He needed to do it. He wanted to do it. He had been hoping for an opportunity as good as this for so long, he was not going to let it pass by him.

He took a deep breath, then took the first steps across the room to the girl, who was in the middle of packing her stuff now.

“HI … Amelia .. ” He was working very hard to keep his voice calm. He didn’t want to stutter in a situation like this. “I was thinking-- Maybe you—I mean I’d-- ”

Amelia looked at him as she stood up from the chair, tugging a lock of brown, wavy hair behind her ear. She smiled at him in such a way that made Peter’s little heart flutter in his chest and he felt like he could melt into a puddle. “I thought -- maybe you would like to go to the Yule ball with me?” He didn’t know where he had suddenly gotten the courage to ask her so calmly, but it seemed that when he looked into her eyes, it wasn’t as scary as it had been. This felt good. He felt brave, he – Had not heard her answer.

As he was wallowing in the amazing rush of adrenaline, he had missed what she said.

“Wot?”

“I said, I can’t .. I’m sorry”

Her smile had disappeared now, and so had Peter’s.

He decided to try to brush it off smoothly, with the same cool attitude that he’d seen his friends use so many times. “Oh. Okay. I just thought now that you’d broken up with your boyfriend – I didn’t want you to be all on your own --”

“We’re back together, actually,” she said, grabbing onto her bookbag and swinging it over her shoulder. “Since yesterday evening .. I’m going with him.”

“O-oh .. I’m .. Sorry to bother you, then .. ” He lowered his shoulders and turned around to go tell his friends it had been a no, but then felt a hand on his shoulder. He stopped, and looked back at Amelia Bones.

“I … We could still hang out sometime,” she said, quickly, as if to get it out before she lost her courage.

Peter smiled. “Yeah .. A’ight! I’d love to!”


End file.
